Nearly a Year After George Floyd's Death, the Officer Who Knelt On His Neck Goes to Trial

Update: March 29, 2021

Ten months after George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis, the trial against former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, begins. Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

“I have a big hole in my heart,” Floyd’s younger brother Philonise said in a press conference before the trial began. “It can’t be patched up. No amount of money that you give, none of that, can patch that. I need justice for George. We need a conviction.”

Ahead of the trial, the city of Minneapolis also settled a lawsuit with Floyd’s family and will pay them $27 million.

Update: May 29, 2020

On Friday afternoon, John Harrington, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, announced that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested. Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. At this point, the three other officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest and death have not been taken into custody.

Original story: May 27, 2020

Along with footage of a woman in Central Park feigning fear and weaponizing her privilege by calling the police after a Black man asked her to follow the law and leash her dog, the long weekend brought horrific news of another life cut short by police brutality.

On Monday, George Floyd, 46, was pronounced dead following an extremely disturbing and upsetting interaction—which was recorded on video—with Minneapolis police officers. After officers responded to a report about “an alleged forgery in progress,” Floyd was handcuffed and pinned to the ground with an officer’s knee on his neck, cutting off his air supply. Floyd repeatedly said he was in pain and couldn’t breathe and begged the officer to get off his neck. Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after at a nearby hospital.

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said, “The technique that was used is not permitted, is not a technique that our officers get trained in on….There is no reason to apply that kind of pressure with a knee to someone’s neck.” According to CNN, four Minneapolis officers were fired and an FBI investigation was ordered as a result of the incident. The day after Floyd’s death, protestors flooded the streets surrounding the intersection where he was violently arrested and were met by officers in riot gear.

Protestors chanted, “No justice, no peace” and “I can’t breathe,” the last words heard from Floyd and a chilling reminder of Eric Garner’s death after being choked by a New York Police Department officer in 2014.

At one point, the officers threw tear gas canisters toward the crowd.

Floyd’s girlfriend, Shawanda Hill, also attended the protest and was understandably in tears near the site where he died.

Many have called instances of police brutality like this one and the killing of citizens like Ahmaud Arbery “modern-day lynchings.”

One protestor told CNN affiliate WCCO, “We’re here to let them know this can’t be tolerated. There will be severe consequences if they continue to kill us. This will not go on another day.”

Source: Read Full Article